Camping Trip!
by xXHamHamLoverXx
Summary: The Astrea Hill girls take their shot at a camping trip. Drama? Threesomes? You bet.
1. Chapter 1

HamHamLover's third StroPani fan fiction is now in production! Now, I was never really expecting to make a second fan fiction, but since my first Strawberry Panic fan fiction was such a success, I thought 'Hey, why not make a second?' So here we are. The Strawberry Panic characters take a camping trip into the woods of Okinawa! Mostly random, doesn't really have a plot. Expect many "wtf?" moments and very irrelevant chapters as we go along.

Tsubomi indirectly screws Hikari. Enough said, eh? I believe that this story will be rated T until further examination. So here we have it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Strawberry Panic. If I did, Hikari would have SHOOP DA WHOOP'd Kaname in the face.

* * *

_Camping Trip! _

_A Strawberry Panic Fan Fiction_

_by: xXHamHamLoverXx_

**Chapter 1: Hiking, Campfires and Stories**

A crowd of girls gathered around a large bus, pushing, shouting and talking loudly in excitement. Astrea Hill's Annual Camping Trip was finally among them, and they couldn't wait. Some of the older students and graduates were acting as camp counselors, including Yaya, Shizuma, Chikaru. Amane and Momomi. The younger graduates were acting as guests on the trip themselves. And of course, the younger students whom were still in school attended. Of course, Hikari was still the Etoile, and so she was forced to attend.

Nagisa smiled at everyone, saying hello to her younger friends who were still in school, and sat next to Shizuma, who was wearing a camp counselor's uniform.

"I sure hope you behave yourself, Shizuma," she said in a low voice, watching Shizuma as she organized the younger girls by their school and year. Shizuma smiled innocently at her.

"What? Whatever do you mean, my dear Nagisa-chan?"

"I mean keeping your hands to yourself while we're in public! You know how those girls get when you're around..." Nagisa crossed her arms and stared her lover down with a glare that told anyone that she was serious. Shizuma smiled at her and continued with her business, and Nagisa went off to find Tamao. A group of her friends were standing around the entrance to the yellow bus. Hikari and Yaya were talking, Tsubomi was hanging around Kizuna, Chiyo Kagome and Remon, and Amane and Momomi were over near a batch of Spican first-years, talking to them about the different things they would be doing at the camping trip.

"Kaname, do you mind helping me get the students onto the bus?" Momomi asked sweetly, but Kaname only smiled smugly.

"Nope! I didn't volunteer to be a counselor, remember? I don't have to do any work at all. I'm just here for the ride."

Momomi narrowed her eyes. "Fine, I'll have _Amane_ help me, since _Amane_ doesn't mind doing a bit of work? Right, Amane?"

Amane blinked and looked over at her, apparently not having payed attention to anything Momomi had said. "Huh? Oh, sure, whatever." Momomi beamed at her, and Kaname rolled her eyes and walked off.

"Psh, whatever, stupid man-she..." she muttered under her breath as she walked over to some of the older students. After about an hour, everyone was set to go. They arranged the students on the bus, with the camp counselors taking the front seats, and they revved up the bus.

"Is everyone ready!" Chikaru called from the front of the bus, and a chorus of exited "Hai!"'s followed. The bus rolled out of the Hill and drove out to the country. The girls went into doing their own respective things for entertainment. Tamao and Nagisa found their entertainment in Pokemon.

It started when Tamao sat down next to Nagisa, whom was sitting with the rest of the students instead of with Shizuma. They had agreed on as little contact as possible while they were in the company of the other students, but it was proving difficult.

"So," Tamao said, sitting next to Nagisa and swiftly taking out her red Gameboy Advance. "I heard you like Mudkips."

"Tamao-chan, not another Pokemon battle..." Nagisa said, rolling her eyes. "We already had four battles before we even got to Astrea Hill. Which, if you don't mind me saying, I trounced you in."

"Pleaaaase one more battle?" Tamao looked at her determinedly, and Nagisa sighed, taking out her own, ironically blue, Gameboy Advance.

"Fine, one more battle."

The battle was very frustrating. Tamao's Pokemon consisted of many different types, however, Nagisa's Pokemon were usually much stronger and clashed with her Pokemon beautifully. Nagisa was the easy victor.

"Five battles in a row, Tamao-chan. I think you can kindly say that you have lost," Nagisa said, smiling widely at her best friend. Tamao sighed and threw her hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine, I admit it..."

"Admit what?"

Tamao and Nagisa stared at each other. Tamao's jaw twitched. "Nagisa-chan, I lost. You truly are the Pokemon Master."

"Thank you, Tamao-chan. You can be my sidekick when we venture out to the Pokemon world one day," Nagisa said, giggling and setting her head in Tamao's lap...where she eventually fell asleep. It was her way of making sure that she didn't think about Shizuma, she couldn't handle it any other way. So she supposed that she would stay close to Tamao-chan for now...it was a bad decision. She knew that Tamao-chan would take advantage of it, one way or another. She could almost feel Shizuma's glare through the leather bus seat.

_Well,_ Nagisa thought, smiling to herself as she fell asleep. _Bring it on._

They arrived at the camp sight forty-five minutes later with high spirits. Girls were gasping in awe and pointing at the many things that surrounded the cabins, including the wildlife and the different parts of the woods that they would most likely explore. The older students, the camp counselors, were standing in a line in front of the group of students.

"Listen up!" Hikari said loudly, and most of the chatter subsided. "You will be broken up into three groups, according to your schools, and will be divided up into six different areas in your cabins. As you can see, they are all quite big, so there is plenty of room for all of us. Now, if you will please report to your assigned counselors, we will get you sorted into your rooms."

"Hikari-sama! Where will you be sleeping?" one little first-year girl asked. Hikari smiled at her.

"With the other counselors, of course. The current Etoile would come here to help you guys out, but they've got...other things to deal with. Now, let's move out!"

"Hai!" the girls' voices sounded again, and everyone broke off into their own groups and headed for the cabins. Nagisa was unfortunate enough to brush by Shizuma, and the sexual tension in the air was very apparent. They were sure that even the kids knew what was going on, even if they kept it quiet. Nagisa mournfully talked to the other people about it.

"I mean, really. I can't walk beside her without wanting to...to..."

"Sex her up?" Kizuna asked as she played with Remon's hair, trying to get the tangles out. "Listen, Nagisa-chan. I don't blame you, really I don't. But while we're in close proximity to the other students, preferably referring to the younger ones, you have to keep yourselves distracted. Don't think about it. Read a hentai instead."

"That will make it worse!" Nagisa whined, covering her face. Remon and Kizuna exchanged a look, and both sighed.

"Nagisa-chan, you just have to stop thinking about it and have fun. I mean, the trip is only a week," Remon stated.

"Hai, a whole week. You know me and Shizuma couldn't go a whole week without..."

"Sexual contact? Don't worry about it. Just find something to occupy your time with, that's all," Kizuna said, and someone called their names from outside, and they skipped off. Nagisa reluctantly followed.

--

The hiking trip was fun in its own way. Most of the girls yelled and screamed, since they were hiking in the dark, but they mostly stayed controlled.

However, no one had as much fun as the camp counselors themselves. Playing jokes on the campers, pretending to be missing, sneaking up on unsuspecting girls and grabbing their shoulders. Most of these actions were performed by Yaya.

Tsubomi led the younger Spicans up to the hills, where they were going to be having a campfire, ghost stories and camp songs. Kizuna and Remon led the Lulim girls, and Chiyo led the Miator kids. Meanwhile, the group counselors were lounging around. Shizuma wore a sour look on her face, and Kaname walked next to her, amused.

"What's wrong with you?" Kaname asked, her arms in her pockets. Shizuma sighed exasperatedly.

"Well, I haven't exactly gone...camping...before. Cabins, no electricity...it's not exactly the type of life I want to live. And Nagisa...well..."

"Hm. So you're deprived of your luxury and your sex, that's about it?"

Shizuma glared at her. "It's not funny. I feel like I'm going to die."

"Wow, melodramatic much? Let loose, have fun with it. You know, if Nagisa can't satisfy you, you can always mess around with the other little girls around here, I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"Stuff it, Kenjou-san."

Kaname held up her hands in defense. "Hey, you're the one who told me about it, I was just giving my advice." The two remained silent for a while, then Shizuma looked at Kaname with a curious look in her eye.

"What's with you and Momomi?"

"What? Oh, that...It's nothing, just a small argument. It'll pass." They blinked at each other, seeming to establish an understanding of each other, and they looked away from each other out of slight embarrassment. They usually didn't talk to each other that way.

Yaya suddenly yelled at them from the top of the hill. "Hey, guys! Hurry up down there!"

Most of the kids made a huge effort to catch up with Yaya, but Tsubomi scoffed and continued to walk at her pace. "Honestly, Yaya-senpai is always so energetic...it's a bit embarrassing..."

The girl whom was walking next to Tsubomi giggled. "Hai, but she is charming, don't you think, Tsubomi-senpai?"

Tsubomi's face suddenly flushed magnificently. "W-what does that mean?! I don't think of Yaya-senpai that way! Y-you're out of your mind...!"

"Why, that hurts my feelings, Tsubomi-chan," Yaya said as they approached her, hearing every word of the conversation. "I personally find Tsubomi-chan to be quite charming."

Tsubomi's face flushed an even deeper red, and Yaya smiled victoriously. "What, what's with the face, huh?"

The pink-haired girl crossed her arms defiantly. "What are you talking about, Yaya-senmpai! Exactly what face do you mean?!"

Yaya sighed and smirked at her, shaking her head. "Nothing, Tsubomi-chan. Nothing at all. Hey, pick up the pace already!" she said, and she continued to walk up the hill, leaving Tsubomi flustered and disoriented.

"Gather around, kids. Yaya-sensei is going to teach you the ways of The Lost Hitchhiker."

"The Lost Hitchhiker, Yaya-chan?" Hikari asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting down in between Tsubomi and Amane.

"She's been reading 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', hasn't she?" Tsubomi asked, and Hikari giggled. Yaya glared at them and continued.

"_Anyways_...as I was saying, the journey's of the Hitchhiker are never foretold as planned. Nothing ever goes right with a hero, you know. There are always complications to handle. And someone couldn't handle them. So do you know what happened to them? They were doomed. Doomed to walk the Earth as a spirit, until they were able to find themselves and fulfill their duties."

"Where is this going, Yaya-chan?" Kaname asked, rolling her eyes. Some of the other girls nodded and snickered.

"Well, think about it, little dorklings. If you try to stray away from the group, if you try to go off and explore by yourselves, just remember my story. You might be the next one that they talk about, and not as a happy fantasy novel, I'm talking a gory horror story. You were warned, you know."

Yaya finished with a tone of mysterious-ness, and no one was speaking, not even the camp counselors. A few first years whimpered, and others sat closer to others. Even Kaname and Momomi were silent.

"Wow, Yaya-chan. That was actually scary..." Hikari said in a hushed voice, looking up at Amane. She was shaking her head and smiling at Yaya.

"Yeah, it was an awesome story!" Kizuna said, clapping her hands. Remon followed in suit, and soon most of the girls were clapping exitedly. Yaya smiled and flushed.

"Thanks, everyone." She suddenly looked to her glowing watch to check the time. "Hey, we should start heading back to the cabins now. It's almost curfew."

And so they headed back, some of them arm and arm, some of them talking about the awesome story Yaya had told, and other things. Of course, what the girls were waiting for the most, what really sparked their excitement, was the activities for the rest of the trip. And they were sure that their senpai had something lined up for them that they would never forget.

* * *

End. Sorry for the short chapter. The others will be longer, I assure you. This is just getting you used to the setting and the characters involved in the fan fiction. Chapter 2 will start actual plots. 


	2. Chapter 2

Not much to say here. Except that I hope this story will go well. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I got a great response on the first day of it being in production, four reviews the next day. I love you all!

Chapters will be dedicated to specific couples. I suppose that each chapter will be a mini-story for each couple.

Oh yeah, the contents of this story is dedicated to my Onee-sama, yurianimeotaku.

**Disclaimer:** The usual.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Sanctuary, Tsubomi and Yaya's Case**

Morning dawned bright and early for the Astrea Hill girls, and the morning laziness seemed to flow through each and every girl at the campsite. Most of the first years were still sleeping when the older students awoke, and they took great pleasure in waking the kids up.

Fully dressed at five in the morning, Yaya and Momomi smirked at each other and entered the first year's room.

"Alright, kiddies! Rise and shine!" Momomi said, clapping her hands together. The students groaned and complained, saying it was too early.

"Oh come on! Haven't you heard the saying 'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a lady smart, pretty and wise'?" Yaya asked, turning on the lights.

"Yeah," one of the kids muttered. "But it didn't say anything about waking up at three in the morning!"

"It's five, actually," Yaya corrected her smugly, and she left the first years with Momomi and headed towards the fourth years, the cabin that Tsubomi resided in. She smiled and walked over to her bunk, examining her sleeping face. So innocent, so pure...it was the exact opposite of the look she usually wore during the day, that pompous look that made her seem like she had an attitude problem...and she did. But Yaya saw through all of that. She figured the girl just wanted attention. She smirked a bit, looking down at the younger girl with fondness. _I'm willing to give her that attention...if she'll only take me..._

She composed herself enough to stop staring down at Tsubomi, and she turned on the light, yelling loudly through the room. The girls complained and groaned, of course, and Yaya made her small speech again, and they started dressing. Yaya shook her head. Of course, she was a sixth year, but she admired these smaller kids for their innocence. Innocence that Yaya would never have again.

She left the room, not knowing that Tsubomi was staring after her, knowing that she had been watching her. Tsubomi had fallen out of REM sleep and was awake, even though she appeared to be sleeping. She had heard the footsteps and recognized Yaya's breathing, and pretended to be asleep. She wondered, though. Why would a popular girl like Yaya, who had looks and a beautiful voice and a lot of friends...ever be interested in a girl like Tsubomi? Tsubomi curled up with her pillow and leaned against the wall, thinking to herself. _My sanctuary is where my heart feels most comfortable...could Yaya-senpai be...my sanctuary?_

--

Later on in the day, as the students organized themselves to go out and start taking in the whole of the campsite, the camp counselors hung back for the day and let the kids have their free time without them. This, they found out, was a glorious idea. It was time that they could spend without having to yell at kids. So they decided on a bit of friendly competition.

The Astrea Hill game divided into two teams for a basketball game. Most of the younger students were pitted against most of the older students, which was a disadvantage and an advantage for both teams. As teams were being decided, Hikari noticed something.

"You guys, Tsubomi-chan isn't here yet!" she said. She looked over to Yaya, who had just sighed and pretended not to notice anything about it. Hikari watched her for a minute, then shook her head.

"Oh whatever, I'll go get her," Hikari said, and headed off towards the cabin. She found Tsubomi there, of course, hugging her pillow and hiding her face in her knees.

"Tsubomi-chan?" Hikari asked, looking a bit concerned, and she sat on Tsubomi's bed. Tsubomi looked up at her, her eyes looked glazed-over and red, and she looked back into her knees. Hikari sighed and gently lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Tsubomi-chan, what's wrong?"

Tsubomi didn't say anything at first. She trembled lightly, and she stumbled over her words when she tried to speak. She finally let out a bit sigh and looked up at Hikari.

"I think...I might be in love."

Hikari shook her head and grinned. "Naturally. First time?"

Tsubomi nodded gravely and Hikari laughed a bit.

"Well, congrats. Who is it? Anyone I know?"

"You know her, alright..." Tsubomi said, almost in a whisper. She blushed heavily and gulped again. "I think...I might...I might be in love with Yaya-senpai."

Hikari gave her a shocked look for a split moment, then smiled fondly at her. "I thought so."

"You thought so?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, when me and Yaya-chan were fighting, you seemed highly concerned about her, and that was when I wondered. And Yaya-chan seemed happy that you were concerned."

Tsubomi scratched the back of her head bashfully, smiling a bit. "Last night, she was watching me."

"Watching you?"

"Yes. Not like the stalker-ish kind of watching, but just...watching. And then she woke us all up." Tsubomi sighed a bit, feeling frustrated. She hated this feeling. She wanted to love Yaya, and at the same time, she was afraid to. Because she already knew her love for Hikari was strong, and that she probably wouldn't think about a girl like her anyway.

Hikari shook her head and crossed her arms. "That is exactly what I would expect from someone like Yaya-chan. Don't worry about it, she's probably just interested in you. Come on, we're having a basketball game and everyone is waiting for you."

Hikari extended her hand. Tsubomi looked at her hand for a few long moments, debating whether or not she should stay in bed or follow her. She decided on the latter and took her hand, letting Hikari lead her back to the gym.

When they got there, Kizuna and Remon were playing the contents of Kizuna's iPod on some very huge speakers, so they could listen to music while they played basketball. One Winged Angel blasted through the gym and they started to pick teams.

"Well, finally. Looks like some of us aren't taking the "Early to rise" part of my speech seriously..." Yaya said, smirking at Tsubomi. Tsubomi avoided eye contact and looked at her feet sheepishly, not saying anything.

"Well, we've got our teams, and it's going to be older students versus younger students. Alright, let's get this started!"

Kaname and Hikari were both chosen to start the game. They stood in front of each other, staring each other down. Miyuki held the ball in the air.

"You two ready?" Miyuki asked. They both nodded, and the ball went in the air. Of course, Kaname got to it first and smacked it, but Hikari ran over and got it before anyone took it in their hands, and ran off to her side. Kaname's mouth gaped open, and she looked over at her team mates and pointed over at Hikari with her thumb. They sighed and shrugged, and started to chase after the other girls.

Yaya was blocking Tsubomi. She smirked and kept pushing Tsubomi by the arm out of the way as the ball came close to her. Tsubomi flushed with anger and eventually grabbed her arm, pulling herself in front of her and grabbing the ball, passing it to Chiyo with a smirk. Half an hour later, the younger girls were leading by fifteen points.

"Time-out!" Shizuma called, and the older group gathered. "What the hell?! Their stomping on us!"

"They're tiny, it's hard to block them. They can just go through our legs," Kaname said, rolling her eyes. "This was a bad idea. They've got strategy and we don't."

"They get turned on easily," Momomi said, and the group smirked at each other.

"Right, right! There aren't any rules in this game, right? We don't have a referee."

"Right. So play dirty! Do what you can to win!" Yaya said. They looked over at the group of smaller girls, and they all looked back, giggling and getting back in their circle. "Look at them, mocking us."

"It makes us seem like we can't play the game," Amane said, shaking her head at Hikari, who stuck her tongue out.

"Seriously, right? So let's beat them at their own game. Who's with me?"

A chorus of "Hai!" followed these words, and they broke up into their team again. Tamao stood on the outside of the court, ready to pass it to one of her team members.

"Take no prisoners!" Yaya called, and the older girls laughed and started to move in. Tamao freaked and thew it feebly, causing Kaname to catch it and start to dribble it over to their side. It went on like that for a while, until Hikari moved in front of Kaname as she was running. They stood there, staring at each other, looking into each other's eyes...Hikari smiled and winked, giving her the "V" sign, and Kaname snickered and passed it off to Momomi.

"No way am I falling for that one again," Kaname growled. Hikari looked amused and ran off to the other side of the court, giggling. Kaname rolled her eyes.

_These kids..._she thought, and as halftime arrived, they took a small break to get water. Tsubomi was leaning against Hikari and watching The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy on Hikari's video iPod, while Yaya helped Kizuna and Remon with the tunes. Overall, Tsubomi and Yaya didn't have any contact with each other whatsoever. It was as though nothing had happened between them, and that Tsubomi had never been late...for whatever reason she was late. But once in a while, Hikari would throw Yaya a "knowing" glance. Yaya wondered what she knew.

The basketball game, though entertaining, was tiresome and took most of the afternoon. The girls were tired, but glad to be able to have the exercise. They talked and joked as they made their way back to their cabins.

Tsubomi and Yaya, however, were not in the mood for joking around. Yaya was not as out-going as she usually was, and Tsubomi was completely silent. Yaya sighed with a melancholic tone and looked to Hikari, whom was walking beside her for moral support.

"Hikari-chan, what should I do?" she asked, looking over to Tsubomi's pathetic figure. "I mean, she looks so lost and confused. I don't want her going on like this just because of me."

Hikari sighed and placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Yaya-chan, just talk to her. I'm sure she wants to talk to you too. I know she doesn't show it much, but Tsubomi-chan is very shy."

Yaya sighed, her mind debating with itself. She didn't want to go and pressure Tsubomi more, but then again, she didn't want her to suffer like this anymore. She looked back to Hikari, who nodded at her. She nodded back and gathered up her courage, and walked over to Tsubomi.

"Tsubomi-chan?" she asked softly, and Tsubomi looked up at her slowly.

"Nani?" Her voice sounded distant, her eyes seemed as though they belonged to another person. But there was no mistaking the blush that came across her face at the sound of Yaya's voice.

Yaya sighed and looked at the ground. "I...I need to talk to you..."

Tsubomi nodded, and in a few minutes, they were walking along the campsite lake where they would go swimming, not saying anything to each other for a long while. They didn't even so much as look at each other. Yaya concluded that it was only because it was such an awkward situation, and the fact that they had never talked to each other directly...alone, in the quiet, with no one around.

They simply walked in silence for a while, listening to the wildlife around them, the chirping of the birds and the soft sounds of crickets in the distance as the sky grew darker, so that it glowed pink and purple. Yaya wasn't sure which one of them would start speaking first. She was almost certain that Tsubomi was thinking the same thing.

They sat on a bench near the lake, the rushing sounds of the nearby rivers mixing with the sounds of the wildlife. It wasn't as beautiful as Astrea Hill, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Yaya looked to Tsubomi. She was sitting with her hands in her lap, swinging her legs and looking slightly skittish. She smiled softly and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the darkening sky.

"You came here to talk. So talk," Tsubomi finally said, sternly, not looking up. Yaya was taken by surprise, she looked at Tsubomi, and this time she didn't look away. She wasn't going to...not anymore. She was going to face her and deal with it.

"Well. I noticed that you came late to the game."

"Everyone noticed."

Yaya sighed. Tsubomi was just too difficult sometimes. "Look, I'm trying to make a point here. I was concerned, okay? You didn't seem in a very good mood when you arrived, and I thought...well...maybe something happened."

Tsubomi looked up into her face, finally, making direct and complete eye-contact with her. Their eyes seemed locked together, neither would look away now.

"You were...concerned?" Tsubomi asked in a hushed voice, her face taking on the softest shade of pink.

Yaya nodded a bit, smiling. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I'm concerned about all of my friends..."

Tsubomi's stomach squirmed at the word "friends", and she looked down at her knees again before looking back up at the older girl sitting next to her. "Why would you worry?"

"Becuase," Yaya said, and, taking a bit chance, grabbed Tsubomi's shoulders lightly and moved her in front of her, "you are important to me. Even though we fight, even though...we have more disputes than a lot of our friends...I still care about you, Tsubomi-chan."

"Yaya-senpai...I still don't understand..."

"Look, Tsubomi-chan. I don't think of you any less than I think of everyone else. Hell...I think of you more. Do you understand, Tsubomi-chan? I...I..."

Tsubomi's face broke into a shy smile. "You what...?"

Yaya's chest seemed to convulse, but she didn't let herself throw up. Instead, she swallowed down her pride and shook her head. "I...I love you."

That was what did it. A few long, sickening moments later, Tsubomi looked away from Yaya again, clutching her knees with her hands and shaking. A solitary tear fell from her eyes and landed on her palm. "You lie."

"Lie? Me?"

Tsubomi didn't nod or shake her head. She just remained there, staring at her knees. "You...and H-Hikari-senpai..."

Yaya sighed and wrapped an arm around Tsubomi's shoulders comfortingly. She leaned gently into her embrace, her breaths shuddering under the pressure that was keeping her tears from falling. "Hikari-chan is a complication. She's nothing more than that. We haven't...we haven't done anything with each other. It was just me being the emotional jerk that I was. I took advantage of her. I know you don't know that, we kept it quiet, but...Tsubomi-chan, you have to believe me."

And they looked at each other, locking eyes again. Yaya's eyes were full of fire, of passion. She really wanted Tsubomi to understand. And for the first time, Tsubomi thought that finally understood Yaya. And even more...she believed her.

There was another long silence, in which neither of them spoke, and Tsubomi composed herself. She remained in Yaya's arms, and she spoke.

"Yaya-senpai?"

"Hai?"

Tsubomi smiled a bit. "I love you too."

A seal had been broken that day. The seal that was keeping their feelings inside, packaged away in the depths of their minds. And all the while, Tsubomi knew that this was it. _Her sanctuary..._


	3. Chapter 3

Not much to say here again. I'm running out of important things to say at the beginning of these chapters now. I'm just glad I'm making progress. And this story seems popular amongst more than a few people. I'm glad for that.

**Chapter 3: You Don't Have to Be Perfect...Kizuna and Remon's Case**

"_Why does it seem like...whenever we're together, we're never really...**together**?"_

Natsume Remon sat at a table the next day, thinking to herself, absentmindedly spinning her teacup on the coaster and thinking of Kizuna. They had known each other for a while now, it seemed, and they had grown closer within the last few years. But Remon found herself questioning their friendship, whether they were only getting closer as best friends...or if it was something else. She hugged herself gently, staring into the last few dregs of her tea, and sighed.

Kizuna, of course, was a playful girl whom she automatically became good friends with the day that they met. They were with each other all of the time, of course...but Kagome usually didn't allow them any time alone with each other. And, even though Remon didn't admit it to herself...it got under her skin that Kagome was always around. She didn't think that there was a single moment that they weren't in the presence of a dozen people. Sometimes...Remon wanted to be alone with Kizuna.

She sighed a bit, putting her teacup away, and went to go find Chikaru. She usually had the answers to these kinds of things, even though Remon didn't really understand. She supposed it was because she was secretly dating Shion. She found it ironic that she, Kizuna and Kagome were the only ones who knew about their relationship. And they hadn't told anyone yet. It made her wonder why Chikaru would entrust a secret that big to three young girls.

Remon found Chikaru sitting at the bar alone, sipping a light order of Sake. She sat next to her and Chikaru greeted her.

"Ohayou, Remon-chan," she said, cheerfully as usual. Remon smiled back.

"Ohayou."

"You seem different today."

"I do?" Remon adjusted her glasses and watched Chikaru. How did she know these things? Sometimes Remon thought it was quite creepy that Chikaru could tell when she was thinking about something or stressed.

"Of course. I can tell by your eyes and your facial expression. So what's up, ne?"

Remon sighed, breathed in and out slowly, and went into her explanation. "I really don't know if...well...let me start with the problem. I'm...I'm attracted to Kizuna-chan."

Chikaru nodded and waved her hand, telling her silently to continue.

"But I don't know if she's only pretending to flirt with me, or if she really likes me back."

Chikaru nodded again, tracing her chin with her finger in thought. "I see...that's a problem, isn't it? So this is why you came to me? Do you want my advice?"

Remon nodded sheepishly. "I would take care of the problem myself, but I'm too shy when I'm talking about my feelings to the one I like."

Chikaru nodded once more and smiled. "It's natural that you would feel that way, Remon-chan. I don't blame you one bit. Now...what do you plan to do about it?"

"'Do' about it? What do you mean by that, Chikaru-senpai?"

Chikaru giggled at her, and Remon blushed lightly. "Well, I mean you have to declare that you love Kizuna."

Remon stumbled over her next words. "W-when did I say that I loved..."

"Oh, come off of it! You know you love her, Remon-chan. Kizuna-chan just doesn't understand that, ne? She thinks of you as a best friend, nothing more. But that's only because you have never told her that you think of her as more. The only way that you will get your feelings across is if you tell her directy. Trust me, it's the only way." Chikaru smiled. "You love her, right?"

Remon nodded, her face turning red. "H-hai...I do...I just want some time alone with her for once..."

Chikaru nodded understandingly, as she always did. "Of course you do. I could tell that you were always being held back by Kagome-chan. But don't be upset with her...it's not her fault. Although, I know that she noticed your feelings for Kizuna-chan. Kagome-chan is very in-tune with other's emotions, you know. Just be sure to tell her your feelings, and you'll be fine. I promise you will."

Remon nodded and gave Chikaru a heart-filled hug. "Arigatou, Chikaru-senpai."

--

Later that day, Kizuna found herself in the company of Remon, just Remon, as they headed off grounds to a nearby ice cream shop. Kizuna blinked at Remon, studying her, of course. They had never done something like this before, they were usually surrounded by a lot of other friends. It made Kizuna slightly nervous.

They sat in a small booth in the shop, both avoiding each other's gaze. Remon felt stupid, she knew she should say something. She opened her mouth, but Kizuna automatically cut her off, as she usually did.

"You know? I always wondered how they make ice cream."

"Come again?"

Kizuna and Remon looked at each other. They both knew that this was going to start a meaningless conversation, as it always did. It was almost as bad as when Kizuna had brought up whether the Purple People Eater ate grape-flavored humans, or just humans thrown in a pool of purple food coloring.

"Ice cream," Kizuna said, this time slowly, spacing the words. "I wonder...how they make ice cream."

Remon rolled her eyes. "Of course, they put in cream and sugar and flavoring and food coloring and they churn it."

"Like they churn butter?" Kizuna made some motions that looked like she was working a butter churn, and Remon giggled and shook her head.

"You ask too many questions."

"A wise man once said," Kizuna started, raising a finger in the air importantly, as though making a speech. "that no one can ever ask one too many questions. Questions get you answers, right? So if we don't ask questions, we'll never learn anything. Do you get where I'm coming from?"

"Right, I understand where you're coming from. But can't we get through one day without saying something incredibly stupid?"

Kizuna narrowed her eyes, and Remon's heart skipped. Kizuna had never looked at her that way without joking.

"So you're saying that everything I say is incredibly stupid?"

"No!" Remon cried, her eyes widening. "Why would I say something like that?! I was just saying...maybe we should try to have...an intelligent conversation for once."

Kizuna blinked and stared at her, as though she were from another planet. Not once had they ever had an intelligent conversation, aside from studying for their many tests together...in which no studying availed. They stared at each other for a few minutes, then Kizuna shook her head and looked out the window again.

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend Natsume Remon?"

Remon laughed a bit and chanced challenging that question. "She's been replaced by a mature teenager."

"Bullshit."

"Where?"

They laughed. They would never stop being the same, they would always be immature. Remon, however, knew when to be mature and when not to be. Kizuna leaned against the leather seat of the booth and looked outside again.

"Well, at least this has been a refreshing outing."

"Refreshing?"

"Of course," Kizuna said, grinning. "I mean, we've never been alone before, right?"

Remon shook her head. So Kizuna had noticed it too...she should have known that she wasn't giving Kizuna enough "intelligent" credits.

"Okay, Remon. I might be an idiot, but I'm not stupid. What did we come here for, really? What's with going for ice cream so suddenly?"

Remon sighed and turned red. Either that, or it was very warm in the ice cream shop. "You know me too well. I just wanted to spend time with you, that's all."

"We're together all the time..." Kizuna said, but her voice trailed off as she looked at the table. She suddenly realized what Remon was saying and walked over to her side of the booth table, wrapping an arm around her. Remon was slightly shocked and she looked away from her.

"Remon-chan, I'm sorry..."

Remon sighed a bit, still looking away. Kizuna sighed as well and rubbed Remon's head, messing up her hair.

"Hey, I'm not perfect, you know."

Remon grinned at her and poked her ribs. Kizuna twitched and squirmed away from her, laughing. "It's fine, Kizuna-chan. You don't have to be perfect."

"I know," she said, smirking as their ice cream came. "But I can always try to be."

"That's better than being perfect," Remon said. They grinned at each other, and Remon went back to her side of the booth to eat her ice cream.

"Good," Kizuna said, digging into her triple-fudge ice cream. "Even if you wanted me to be perfect, I wouldn't be."

"Why?" Remon asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Because," Kizuna said, looking up at her and smirking. "Perfect people don't make their best friends buy their ice cream."

Remon laughed a bit, shaking her head as the waiter came with their bill. "Oh, really? I suppose that means I'm not anywhere near perfect, either." Remon winked at Kizuna's baffled face as she went to the bathroom, purposely taking a very long time. It was there in the hallway that she thought about what Chikaru said, and shook her head. They didn't need to be lovers, they were already perfect as best friends. And at the moment, Remon realized that she didn't need anything more.


End file.
